A very ponytastic weekend

My college friend Darren – who has become quite legendary in my story-retellings, what with his propensity for random trips to Monte Carlo and also the time he convinced me that lobster antenna was a delicacy – moved to Nashville a few years back and throws a big ole tailgating and afterparty for Steeplechase every year. I had fully decided not to go, but at the last minute, found a ride from D.C. down to the festivities and so packed a bag and a few big hats and off I went.

We had roughly 60 hours in town (not very long considering it takes 11 hours to drive there) but managed to make it worth our while. The main event was, of course, the Iroquois Steeplechase – probably best described as the biggest, longest, best-dressed barbeque I've ever been to, with an occasional pony race thrown in for extra fun – but we managed to see the city a little bit as well. And so, the weekend highlights, in slightly edited form for the sake of my mother.


First up: Friday in Nashville. There were (in quick summary) bloody marys, several trips to several different supermarkets, amazing barbeque, the world's best bar (in an old train station!), Mexican groceries, really fantastic Thai food, a bunch of honky tonk hotspots, a seriously stellar round of video Texas Hold 'Em, an abandoned attempt to hit up the dueling piano bar, some drama in the McDonald's drive-thru line and late-night bagel grilling. I even convinced Darren to take me to the vintage store for a quick round of quality shopping. Let's go to the pictures.

For starters, Darren lives in a beautiful old house in Brentwood that is delightfully under renovation.


It's on really fantastic property, with a large lake and lots of leafy trees and also a big ole bathtub on the front porch. Naturally.




As part of luring us to come down, Darren had promised some killer BBQ and he totally delivered. The famous Judge Bean's has recently relocated to the skybox of a local minor league baseball team, so you chow down while taking in the view of… a mostly empty stadium. Still, pretty cute.



I highly, highly recommend both the beef brisket and the ribs.


And then: The Flying Saucer! They have over 200 beers on tap, including *seven* kinds of hard cider. Seven! You can sit around on the porch on big couches and it is totally low-key and seriously cool.



Then we went on an adventure in search of mole sauce. It was a good time, especially as the Mexican grocery store is pretty infinitely photographable.




Finally, after a big Thai dinner, we hit up the hotspots of Nashville. This is where the censoring begins, but let me assure you, it was quite fun and thoroughly country-fied. Plus, I got a lot of practice saying "all y'all" just like a local.




After a pretty rainy week, Steeplechase Saturday dawned clear and sunny and bright.


It's a pretty fantastic scene where everyone rolls in to the racegrounds in their oversized pick-up trucks. However, I would caution any future racegoers that it is probably not a good idea to get out of the car to stretch your legs during what appears to be a big traffic jam, as there is a high possibility that the traffic jam will instantly clear up and your friends will take off and you and your college buddy Tad will end up having to hoof it a couple of miles to get to the races.




The races themselves are pretty secondary to the biggest outdoor party I've ever been to. People get gussied up in their most prep-tastic attire (big hats and sundresses are customary for the ladies, while the gentlemen prefer bow ties and Sperrys), set up huge spreads with tents and grills and even croquet, and spend the day trying to outlast each other. As I'm sure you could guess, hilarity regularly ensues.


Did you know the bean bag toss was the new hotness? *Everyone* was playing it. Of course, in the south they call it "cornhole", which was sort of amusing all by itself.











This gentleman is having a small, friendly altercation with the security guard.


Just another casual and completely nonstaged moment by the racetrack.





Of course, the best part of the day (other than my highly superior flip cup skillz) was the fashion. Some people really do it up really right – and I'd have to say that the guys in particular put on a very strong showing (truly, I've never seen so much Madras and seersucker in my life).

We start with: Best. Pants. Ever!






The kids tried to convince me that croakies were cool again. I remain skeptical.


Two-tone Sperrys! Loved them.


There is just no denying that this is is a seriously phenomenal hat.





It is a very fine line between preppy and pimpin'.





And the award for Biggest Flower Ever goes to…


Plaid + PBR = instant class.


Not my best mirrored sunglasses work, but it'll do.



I *loved* this orange goose dress. Even better: She had her own polkadot cornhole set.







Obviously, this gentleman had a serious fear of being pantsed. Which might not have been totally off-base.


And this guy just rocked.


Later, fully sunburnt and a little bit silly, we adjourned back to Darren's for a major afterparty that carried on late into the evening. Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures of the general debauchery, but I personally think this photo sums it up pretty well:


Special and very sincere thanks must go to Darren, Elizabeth and Kevin for being such excellent and hospitable hosts, to Michelle for being the best marathon-lengths driver ever (and also always agreeing to stop at Wendy's so I could have my fill of Frostys and cheeseburgers), to Maria for keeping everyone in check, to James for providing hilarious deadpan commentary throughout the trip and to Tad for managing to artfully apply sunscreen to my back so that I ended up with the most unusual sunburn stripes ever.

Until next year, kids.